


Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

by marichatting



Series: The Twelve Days of Christmas [11]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Everyone Is Alive, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28299471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marichatting/pseuds/marichatting
Summary: True feelings come to light as Julie and the Phantoms record a Christmas album, including a duet between Luke and Reggie.
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: The Twelve Days of Christmas [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056428
Comments: 8
Kudos: 112





	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Day 11 of the Twelve Days of Christmas!
> 
> This is another AU where everyone's alive.

Luke smiled as Reggie made his way into the recording booth, his eyes alight with excitement. Reggie had been looking forward to this for weeks.

The whole band was in the studio recording a Christmas album. It had been Reggie’s idea, since it was his favorite holiday, and the bassist had been thrilled when the band decided he should have his own solo song on the album.

Luke beamed at him as Reggie gave them an excited thumbs-up from inside the booth and then started singing, his voice soft and gentle.

_ “Last Christmas, I gave you my heart,” _ Reggie sang, and Luke immediately felt his heart melt. Reggie’s voice was beautiful, and it was one of Luke’s favorite sounds in the world.  _ “But the very next day, you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I’ll give it to someone special.” _

Luke sighed softly as he stared at his bandmate and best friend, his heart beating noticeably faster than usual. He wished  _ he _ could be that someone special. But he knew Reggie didn’t feel the same way.

“Luke?” Julie’s voice asked softly from the spot next to him on the couch. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, trying to act as if he hadn’t just been staring longingly at Reggie. “Of course. Why?”

Julie paused and glanced over at Alex, who was standing next to the recording engineer and watching Reggie sing, clearly deep in thought. He was always like this when they recorded- always thinking about what they could do differently, what they could change, what they could improve.

“Can we go out in the hall?” she asked.

Luke nodded and joined her as they walked out into the hallway.

“Look,” Julie said, her voice quiet and gentle. “I’m just gonna cut to the chase here: I know you like Reggie.”

Luke’s eyes went wide. “What? No, of course I-”

“Save it, Luke,” Julie said. “I know you, okay? And I know that look you were just giving him. It’s the same look you give him  _ all the time.” _

Luke shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you think I don’t notice the way you look at him when he’s not paying attention?” Julie asked. “I see it, Luke. He doesn’t, but  _ I do. _ I know you have feelings for him.”

Luke sighed. “Fine. Whatever. What’s your point?”

Julie paused. “I know what it’s like to have a crush on your best friend,” she said. “Before Flynn and I started dating, I was convinced that she didn’t like me back and that I was going to ruin our friendship by having feelings for her. I thought we were going to stop being friends, and that it would be all my fault. So, believe me, I know how hard it can be. I just wanted to check on you and see if you’re okay.”

Luke’s expression softened. “Yeah, Julie. I’m okay. Thanks for checking- you’re a good friend.”

“I know,” she smiled at him, and they both giggled. “Seriously, though, if you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Thanks,” he nodded.

“And for what it’s worth,” she continued. “I think you should tell him.”

Luke furrowed his brow. “Are you crazy? Reggie’s  _ straight. _ ”

Julie shrugged. “Obviously it’s up to you, and you shouldn’t feel pressured to tell him if you don’t want to. But I don’t think he would, like, react badly, or anything, if that’s what you’re afraid of. And it might help you get closure, or something.”

Luke shook his head. “No way. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable or freak him out or something. Telling him would ruin everything.”

“Okay,” Julie said. “You don’t have to. But I at least want you to think about it, okay? Remember that this is  _ Reggie _ we’re talking about here. He wouldn’t be freaked out. You’re his best friend, and nothing’s going to ruin that. At least think about it.”

Luke hesitated. “Okay, fine,” he lied. “I’ll consider it.”

Julie blinked at him. “I know you’re lying, but I don’t want to deal with it right now.” She pushed past him and walked back into the recording studio, and Luke followed.

When they got back into the room, Reggie was nodding along as the recording engineer gave him a few notes. Alex was listening intently as well, no doubt making mental reminders for when it was his turn to record his rendition of ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.’ Reggie waved cheerfully at Julie and Luke as they walked through the door, and after the engineer was done giving him notes, he started singing again.

Reggie was always beautiful, but something about watching him sing just felt different. He was stunning, and Luke couldn’t tear his eyes away.

***

The next day, they went into the studio again to record “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” as a duet between Luke and Julie. But apparently, as Luke found out when they reached the studio, Julie had other plans.

“Actually, guys,” she said as they were getting set up. “I kind of think maybe Reggie should take my place in this song.”

Luke’s stomach lurched and his eyes went wide at the thought of singing a whole song as a duet with Reggie. The other boy raised his eyebrows.

“Really?” Reggie asked. “Why?”

Julie shrugged. “I just think your voice would be better suited for it than mine. Plus, you did so great on ‘Last Christmas’ yesterday,  _ and _ this album was your idea in the first place, so I think you should sing more. Plus, your voice goes really well with Luke’s.”

Luke swallowed and tried to fight down the blush that was rising in his face.

“Are you sure?” Reggie asked.

Julie nodded. “Definitely. And you helped arrange the duet, so I know you know the part.”

Reggie smiled brightly. “Okay, cool! Thanks, Julie!” He skipped into the booth to get ready.

“Yeah,” Luke gave her a pointed look.  _ “Thanks, Julie.” _

She smiled, ignoring his sarcasm. “You’re welcome. I’m doing this for you. Now get your ass in there.”

Alex perked up. “Oh, are we finally doing something about Luke’s crush on Reggie?”

Luke’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. “You know, too?”

“Duh,” Alex said. “We used to go out, Luke. I know how to tell when you have a crush. Plus, you’re not very good at hiding it.”

Luke huffed. “I hate you guys.”

“Get in that booth and be gay,” Julie ordered him.

Luke rolled his eyes, but he kept silent as he walked into the booth and got ready to sing.

_ “Have yourself a merry little Christmas,” _ he sang when they finally started.  _ “Let your heart be light. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.” _

Reggie took a breath in preparation for his part.

_ “Have yourself a merry little Christmas,” _ he sang, his voice smooth and steady as he read from the sheet music in his hand. Luke felt his breath hitch in the back of his throat, his heart speeding up as he watched the other boy.  _ “Make the Yuletide gay. From now on, our troubles will be miles away.”  _ Luke’s knees went weak at the last note as Reggie’s voice got softer on the higher note, his gentle vibrato making Luke’s palms sweat.

_ Get yourself together, _ Luke told himself internally. _ He’s your best friend. And you’re a professional musician recording an album right now. Don’t be stupid. _

He steadied himself just in time for the next part. They sang a harmony together, Reggie taking the melody and Luke singing the lower part they had planned out.

_ “Here we are as in olden days,”  _ both boys sang together. Their voices melded together perfectly, just like they always did.  _ “Happy golden days of yore.” _

Reggie’s gaze came up from the sheet music to look Luke in the eyes, and he offered him a little teasing smile that made Luke’s heart skip a beat.

_ “Faithful friends who are dear to us,” _ they continued.  _ “Gather near to us once more.” _

They continued singing, Reggie’s gaze moving back and forth between the sheet music and Luke’s eyes. Luke didn’t look at his sheet music at all because he couldn’t bring himself to pry his gaze away from Reggie.

After about an hour of recording and re-recording sections of the song, they finally finished, and Luke was relieved to escape the booth at long last. He felt like he was suffocating in there, unable to escape the tight feeling he got in his chest when Reggie looked at him like that.

“That was awesome, Luke,” Reggie beamed as they left the booth. “You did so great.”

“Thanks,” Luke said, trying to fight yet another blush. “You sounded awesome in there.”

“Yeah, you two were great,” Julie smiled at them. “Hey, could you two maybe go out and wait in the car?”

Luke furrowed his brow. “What? Why?”

“Alex is nervous,” she explained shortly, turning to the blond. “Right?”

Alex, who was preparing to go into the booth to record his song, turned to them. “What?”

“You’re nervous about recording the song,” Julie reminded him. “And you said you wanted Luke and Reggie to go outside and wait in the car. Right?”

Alex paused for a moment, staring at Julie in confusion. She gave him a pointed look.

“Oh, yeah,” Alex said suddenly. “Yeah, um, I just think it would be easier if you guys weren’t watching me. I think you should go outside and wait in the car.”

Luke scowled at Julie, but she ignored him and smiled as she turned back around to look at Luke and Reggie. “You heard him,” she said, bouncing on her toes a little. “You’d better go out and wait in the car.”

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes, but they did as instructed. He couldn’t believe those two.

As he and Reggie walked out of the building to the car, his phone buzzed with a notification. He took it out of his pocket and unlocked it to see a text from Julie.

**[i made a playlist for you guys <3]**

The message was followed by a link to a playlist on Spotify. When he clicked the link, it was full of romantic songs. Luke rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help but smile fondly down at his phone as he scrolled through the playlist Julie had created. He looked at the title and frowned.

**_to make your heart go peterpatter_ **

He was confused about why she would’ve misspelled pitter-patter, but then he rolled his eyes once again when he realized “peterpatter” was actually a mashup of his and Reggie’s last names. She was such a dork.

He and Reggie got into the car with Luke in the driver’s seat and Reggie in the passenger’s. He plugged the aux cord into his phone and hesitated for a moment before he finally- against his better judgement- hit shuffle on the playlist.

“Strawberries & Cigarettes” by Troye Sivan was the first song to play, and Reggie’s face lit up.

“I love this song,” he beamed. Luke watched fondly as the other boy closed his eyes and sang along to the song.

Sitting alone with him in the car listening to Troye Sivan and watching Reggie sing was almost overwhelming for Luke. Suddenly, he wanted nothing other than to kiss him.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he took Julie’s advice. After all, if he continued on like this, their music might start paying the price; how was he supposed to get anything done when Reggie was there looking so pretty and being so adorable?

“Reg,” he said when the song ended, turning the volume down as the next song started so that he could be heard over the music.

“Yeah?” Reggie responded.

“I have to tell you something,” Luke started. “And… it might weird you out, but I really need to get this off my chest, and Julie said I should tell you, so…” he trailed off, looking down at his lap and trying to build up his courage.

“Luke,” Reggie said softly. “You can tell me anything.”

Luke tilted his head back up and looked him in the eyes.

“I like you, Reg,” he finally said, blurting it out before he lost the willpower. “As more than just a friend. I’ve had a crush on you for a while now.”

Reggie raised his eyebrows and simply stared at him for a brief moment, not seeming to know how to respond.

“Before you say anything,” Luke continued, his face burning and his hands shaking. “I know you’re straight. I’m not trying to-”

“Who says I’m straight?” Reggie interrupted.

Luke faltered, staring at him for a moment and trying to decipher the expression on his face. “Aren’t you?”

Reggie shook his head. “I’m bi.”

Luke paused. “Oh. Um. Cool. I didn’t know that.”

“The only person who knows is Julie,” Reggie explained. “I told her a few weeks ago- the same day that I told her about my crush on you.”

Luke’s eyes went wide. “You- um. You have a crush on me, too?”

“Yeah,” Reggie said with a shy smile, his own cheeks turning pink.

Luke let out an awkward laugh. “Oh. Cool. Uh. That’s- wow, that-”

“Luke,” Reggie giggled. “Can you just kiss me already?”

Luke froze. “Really?”

Reggie nodded, his face even redder than before. “If you want to.”

Luke nodded quickly. “I do.”

Reggie smiled and leaned in, and when their lips met over the car’s center console, Luke was positive that he had never been happier than he was right now.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment with feedback and/or a request! Thanks!
> 
> -Emma
> 
> Find me on Twitter: [lukesreggies ](https://twitter.com/lukesreggies)  
> 


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